Decorating with M&M’s
Everything you always wanted to know about decorating with M&M’s but were afraid to ask.
Here are a couple of M&M Fun Facts that you should know. M&M’s are the top-selling candy in the United States. There are more than 400 million M&M’s produced every day. M&M’s have been enjoyed by over three generations of candy lovers. When decorating with M&M’s you are adding color, crunch, chocolate, and a little bit of love to every dessert you make. We’ve been adding M&M’s to our Two Sisters treats for a long time now and we’ve collected everything we’ve learned about working with this yummy and versatile candy in one place. Enjoy!
So Many M&M’s, So Little Time to add them to Desserts
It used to be there were only Milk Chocolate M&M’s and Peanut M&M’s. Now there are more versions of this yummy treat than you can actually keep track of. The picture above is not from some fancy Candy Warehouse but from our local grocery store – four rows of M&M’s in all different flavors and sizes. Here is a list of all the different types of M&M’s the next time you are decorating with M&M’s.
- M&M’s Milk Chocolate
- M&M Minis
- Pretzel M&M’s
- M&M’s Mega
- M&M’s Peanut
- M&M’s Peanut Butter
- Dark Chocolate M&M’s
- M&M’s Dark Chocolate Peanut
- Crispy M&M’s
- M&M’s Almond
- M&M’s Dark Mint
How M&M’s are Made
Ever wonder how M&M’s are made? This is a fun behind-the-scenes look at a M&M factory.
Our favorites when Decorating with M&M’s
Our go-to types when we are decorating with M&M’s are Milk Chocolate, Pretzel and Minis.
Milk Chocolate M&M’s are a classic for a reason and this is the M&M that is the star of so many of our most popular desserts. The perfect blend of crunch and chocolate and they come in all the colors of the rainbow. Here are a few of our best Two Sisters treats using Milk Chocolate M&M’s.
Pretzel M&M’s are large M&M’s in the shape of a ball, filled with a pretzel dipped in chocolate and then covered with the traditional candy coating in Red, Orange, Yellow, Brown, Blue and Green. They taste great and we like them because of the shape and the extra crunch of the pretzel. This is a must-have mix-in for our Sweet and Salty Popcorn. Here are a few examples of Two Sisters treats using Pretzel M&M’s.
M&M Minis are yummy too. Just like regular M&M’s but smaller. They are especially good in cookies and they are a fun option for pretzel bites. Unfortunately, you can only get these in the traditional shades. We use a lot of Red and Green Minis at Christmas time and we would have to buy a bunch of bags and then pick out the red and green ones. But in the last few years Mars has put out something called Christmas Baking Bits (we found them in the baking aisle at the grocery store) that are bags of Red and Green M&M’s Minis so that has been SUPER great for our Holiday Baking. Here are a few Two Sisters treats using M&M Minis.
Holiday Mix M&M’s
The Mars Company sells fun Holiday themed bags of M&M’s filled with a mix of colored M&M’s appropriate to each particular holiday season. This is the GREATEST THING EVER! Thanks, smart person at Mars who came up with this idea! Not only are they fun for holiday-themed baking but you can buy a couple of extra bags and store them away and pull out some of the pretty colors for baking projects throughout the year. Here is a breakdown of the current Holiday Bags of M&M’s and when you can find them in stores.
Harvest Holiday Mix – appears in stores after the Back to School stuff leaves the shelves and features Burgandy, Red, Dark Brown and Gold M&M’s. Here are a couple of Two Sisters treats using Harvest M&M’s:
Harvest Caramel Corn
Thanksgiving Caramelcopia Cupcakes
Christmas Holiday Mix – appears in stores after Halloween candy is taken down and features Red and Green M&M’s. Here are a couple of Two Sisters treats using Christmas M&M’s:
Christmas Chocolate M&M Cookies
Santa Crunch Popcorn
Valentine’s Day Holiday Mix – appears in stores after the Christmas candy is put away and features Red, White, Pink and Dark Pink M&M’s. Here are a couple of Two Sisters treats using Valentine’s Day M&M’s:
Valentine’s Day Flower Cookie Bites
Valentine’s Day Popcorn
Easter Mix – appears in stores after the Valentine’s Candy disappears and features pastel Pink, Purple, Green, Lavender and Blue M&M’s. Here are a couple of Two Sisters treats using Easter M&M’s:
Spring Caramel Pretzel Bites
Spring Flower Pretzel Bites
4th of July Holiday Mix – appears in stores usually around the middle of May and features Red, White and Blue M&M’s. Here are a couple of Two Sisters treats using 4th of July M&M’s:
M&M Flag Cake
Red White and Blue Chocolate Cookies
How long do M&M’s last?
If you stock up on M&M’s as we do, an important question is how long do they last. We have found that an unopened bag of M&M’s is fine for at least one and sometimes two years. After two years, we find that they start to lose their sheen and color. In the picture above you can see the difference between new and old brown M&M’s. The “old” M&M’s taste fine but the color is dull and speckled. We don’t think they look pretty enough to use as a decoration on a dessert.
Baking with M&M’s
M&M’s crack when you bake with them. They don’t actually crack when you bake them, they crack when you take your dessert out of the oven and the cooling process begins. We have tried a lot of different things to stop or limit the cracking to no avail. Sigh. It is unfortunate but that is the way it is. And you know what, it is fine. The cookies still look pretty even if a couple of the M&M’s are slightly cracked. PS. if you have figured out a way to stop M&M’s from cracking in the oven, please leave a comment below and share your tip with us, we’d be so grateful. 😊
M&M’s lose their sheen when refrigerated
When you are decorating with M&M’s you can’t make ahead and then refrigerate or freeze. The moisture in the refrigerator and the freezer takes away the sheen of the M&M. We learned this the hard way as you can see in the picture above of Mickey Mouse Cupcakes that we made the night before a birthday party. Waaaa …. Waaaa … cloudy M&M Mickey Heads. Lesson learned. Frost the cupcakes ahead of time, but don’t add the M&M’s until the day of the party.
What color M&M’s are available?
The traditional bag of M&M’s is made up of Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Yellow, and Dark Brown M&M’s. You can do a lot of fun things with just these colors but luckily you don’t have to limit yourself to these choices. Check out our Two Sisters M&M Color Guide for a list of every single color of M&M available and where you can find them online or in your neighborhood.
How many bags of M&M’s will I need?
We counted the M&M’s in five of the popular-sized bags of M&M’s to help give you an idea of how many bags of M&M’s you will need for your decorating project. You’re welcome!
How Many M&M’s are in a .6 oz Fun Size Bag? – 16 M&M’s
in the following colors: Blue (4), Green (4), Yellow (2), Red (2), Orange (3), Brown (1)
How Many M&M’s are in a 1.69 oz Individual Size Bag? – 55 M&M’s
in the following colors: Blue (12), Green (15), Yellow (6), Red (1), Orange (8), Brown (13)
How Many M&M’s are in a 10.7 oz Sharing Size Bag? – 377 M&M’s or 1 1/3 cups
in the following colors: Blue (109), Green (45), Yellow (46), Red (37), Orange (101), Brown (39)
How Many M&M’s are in a 19.2 oz Family Size Bag? – 625 M&M’s or 2 1/3 cups
in the following colors: Blue (128), Green (134), Yellow (78), Red (92), Orange (132), Brown (61)
How Many M&M’s are in a 42 oz Party Size Bag? – 1357 M&M’s or 5 1/3 cups
in the following colors: Blue (228), Green (242), Yellow (164), Red (189), Orange (339), Brown (195)
Other Fun Posts Featuring M&M’s
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